Tradition prevails when it comes to school calendars in Massachusetts

Eli Sherman Wicked Local @Eli_Sherman

Monday

Aug 27, 2018 at 7:30 AM

School is back, and parents across the state are grappling with the annual challenge of scheduling. Early releases, multiple vacations and random days off for teacher trainings can cause a logistical and economical headache, especially for working parents.

Margaret Robicheau keeps a calendar on her desk at work to keep track of her 7-year-old’s school schedule.

She has marked off at least four full days and five half-days for professional development, along with 25 vacation days. And ensuring someone can look after her children each of those days seems impossible.

“My husband and I cannot possibly take all the time off in addition to the summer-school vacation,” Robicheau said.

The Plainville mother is not alone.

School is back, and parents across the state are grappling with the annual challenge of scheduling. Early releases, multiple vacations and random days off for teacher trainings can cause a logistical and economical headache, especially for working parents.

“Most companies give five to 10 days vacation to grownups during the first five years of an average employment. And today’s society contains two working parents, not the traditional stay-at-home-parent household,” Robicheau said.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics earlier this year reported both parents worked in 61.9 percent of married couples with children. At the same time, 76.5 percent of single mothers worked and 88.1 percent of single fathers worked.

More parents in the workforce translates into fewer parents at home, meaning days off from school can add to household costs.

“I’m a working mom and I find it very challenging to find affordable child care for all the random half-days and days off in the Littleton Public School system,” said Kristin DeStefano of Littleton.

The scheduling challenge, however, isn’t only on parents. School districts are faced with fitting the state-required 180 school days into a calendar that also accounts for holidays, vacation and weather. It must also conclude before the fiscal budget ends on June 30.

The task is further complicated by teacher unions, which negotiate vacation and training days for its members. In many districts, school calendars are tied entirely to union contracts, giving teachers a lot of control. Shifting schedules can also exacerbate school costs, which already make up the lion’s share of municipal budgets.

“It’s awfully hard to put all of those dimensions together,” said Paul J. Andrews, director of professional development and government services at the Massachusetts Association of School Superintendents in Lexington.

School boards and committees are responsible for creating calendars, and some are experimenting with different approaches. Concord-Carlisle Regional High School, responding to multiple studies showing older students have trouble learning early in the morning, adjusted start times last year to begin later.

In an effort to bring regularity to the calendar, the Hamilton-Wenham Regional School District in 2013 moved all full-day professional development days to Fridays and Mondays, giving families the option to plan for long weekends. It also moved voting precincts to other public buildings, so schools could operate without interruption on Election Day.

“This allows parents to plan for a consistent schedule each week while still providing the necessary time for our staff to meet and learn,” said Michelle Bailey, a Hamilton-Wenham School Committee member.

The school calendar was one of the reasons Bailey got involved with the School Committee, she said.

Half-days and full days off, however, only represent one part of the scheduling puzzle for parents, who see other areas where the calendar could improve.

Katherine Zalios-Wood, a single mother in Hanover, would prefer the school year extended.

“It is truly a nightmare for working parents to schedule child care for school vacations and holidays,” Zalios-Wood said. “I would be a big fan of yearlong school, or extended school years.”

For others, vacations between New Year and summer break seem excessive and outdated.

“Eliminate February vacation week and April vacation week,” said Jennifer W. Fiocchi, a North Andover parent. “Replace it with one week off in March. Get out of school a week earlier and keep the first day of school as the Tuesday after Labor Day.”

Some parents wonder why the state doesn’t implement more-uniform standards across districts. But historically, the state has done little to mandate changes to school scheduling. And when asked about it, Andrews laughed, saying state lawmakers have no interest in touching the subject and communities are loath to give up local control.

“Massachusetts is the most parochial state in the union,” he quipped.

Andrews, who formerly served as superintendent of Woburn Public Schools, said the widespread frustration of parents is understable, but the needs of families vary, making it difficult to create a “perfect schedule.”

And while districts at different times have tried to make changes, he added, tradition prevails more often than not.

“The first time you do something it’s an innovation, the second time you do it it’s a tradition,” Andrews said. “When you try to touch tradition, it’s amazing how it gets complicated.”

Eli Sherman is an investigative and in-depth reporter at Wicked Local and GateHouse Media. Email him at esherman@wickedlocal.com, or follow him on Twitter @Eli_Sherman.